It's a Knockout! 2011/12: Qualifying Round - Pinball Dreams

[Anakirob]

I find if the ball is going straight for the gap between the flippers try to resist the urge to raise both flippers. Then it bounces back up the table nicely.

[Graham Humphrey]

One light away from getting that final 'D' in 'Graveyard'...



82,524,232

[capehorn]

Twice I've been one target away from a double and lost my last ball. Very annoying.

[Lonewolf10]

Originally Posted by Anakirob

I find if the ball is going straight for the gap between the flippers try to resist the urge to raise both flippers. Then it bounces back up the table nicely.

Yes,I have had it bounce back into play before.
I have also had it hit the pin at the bottom (below the flippers) and go left, up the left side and back into play!


Regards,
Lonewolf10

[john4p]

Hit Jackpot & Super Jackpot early on. Then 3 midnights, but no graveyard.



145,126,987


Since no one has any objections against the 20 players-suggestion why not lower the bar in the table now, Graham?

[AmigaFriend]

1,009,696,045

[Graham Humphrey]

Wow, so that's two players breaking the billion barrier then. Any more?

Originally Posted by john4p

Since no one has any objections against the 20 players-suggestion why not lower the bar in the table now, Graham?

As soon as mihcael agrees to it then it'll be in place although I doubt even that will save me from an early exit

[john4p]

Qualification is definitely tough this time. Most competitive round ever.

[capehorn]

100,000,000 to qualify?!!!!

Well done everyone, I play this a lot and I can tell you 100,000,000 can be tough to get, even for me.

[john4p]

Tried in WinUAE without doublebuffering. The less input lag is noticeable.



236,936,696


_______________________________________

Btw., I've always wondered what this creature is supposed to be:



Is it a ghost with eyes and an evil smile (and another mouth on top)?
Or is it a floating castle with 3 lit bats in front of it?
Or is it a shadow with 3 pairs of evil eyes peering out of it?
Or...?

[lifeschool]

^ I'd say it's a shadow with three sets of evil eyes.

I second the motion to lower the bar to 20 players today, seeing as there are only three more days (60 hours) to go until the deadline. Just so as everyone knows where they are as we go into the weekend.

[Graham Humphrey]

Well mihcael is still the only one not to have given this idea the go-ahead... I think we all need to agree before we do it so no pressure

[mihcael]

I cant decide either way so just do it.

[Graham Humphrey]

Okay then, thanks - that's settled and there will officially be 20 people qualifying for the next stage! Not that I'll personally need the extra positions



322,171,716

[linesmachine]

Originally Posted by lifeschool

^ I'd say it's a shadow with three sets of evil eyes.

I'd say it's a pair of eyes and 2 bats, flying out of a cave of hellish darkness.

[capehorn]

671,886,101, sooooo close to that final double

[Dreedo]

Uhhh, really don't know how you guys do it.

I've never had graveyard and only had 1 extra ball twice.

Do you guys realize that the past 3 years of It's a Knockout, the qualifying round has been a pinball game? :P

[mihcael]

Originally Posted by Dreedo

...
Do you guys realize that the past 3 years of It's a Knockout, the qualifying round has been a pinball game? :P

Cool isnt it! If it were up to me we would only play pinball games and shootemups!

[mailman]

Originally Posted by Anakirob

Interesting choice, as the Nightmare table has "add no.1 score to your score" as one of the prizes in the random prize feature. None the less, expect me to post a score very soon.

I asked this question at the beginning of the round and received very foggy answers. What is this prize and how to get it?

[Dreedo]

The add no.1 score to your score will add the highest score you've achieved this playthrough.

As far as i understand.

[mailman]

Yes, but how you do it? What should be activated to get it? I think that it could be only activated in more than one player game mode. Is it allowed then to play in more than one player mode and obtain some special prizes that are only in more than one player mode?

[Graham Humphrey]

Originally Posted by mailman

Yes, but how you do it? What should be activated to get it? I think that it could be only activated in more than one player game mode. Is it allowed then to play in more than one player mode and obtain some special prizes that are only in more than one player mode?

I got it on my first go and think I only got a million points for it. It does seem totally random whether you get it or not - first time I played it for this round I got it but never since.

And no, you can't play with more than one player

And also - today, as I'm probably too fond of saying, is the last day of the round folks!

[mailman]

Originally Posted by Graham Humphrey

I got it on my first go and think I only got a million points for it. It does seem totally random whether you get it or not - first time I played it for this round I got it but never since.

And no idea how to do it?

[Graham Humphrey]

In the lower ball trap when you highlight 'spin' is where you get it from. Seems pretty rare though (for me anyway).

[mailman]

So this is what Panic is?

[Anakirob]

Originally Posted by mailman

I asked this question at the beginning of the round and received very foggy answers. What is this prize and how to get it?

I'm sorry, your question was unclear to me as I thought you were asking me what is the highest score on my highscore table, heh. Sorry about that.

Ok, so now that has been cleared up: This bonus is 9 o'clock on the random prize spinner, first hit all the "R.I.P" targets on the lower right, and then lock the ball in the trap on the lower left.

Although I think for the purpose of this competition it's not worth bothering with.

Now that I focus my memory a little harder I'm pretty sure I would have been playing with 8 players back in the day when I first won this prize and it raised my score by a ridiculous amount (far more than the megre hundred and thirty something million that I scored for this comp).
=edit=

Originally Posted by mailman

So this is what Panic is?

Panic (and XB) lights up when you get 12 o'clock on the prize spinner, and activating it the same as activating midnight. You activate these when the ball rolls down the lanes behind the bumpers (left for panic and right for extra ball).

And in anticipation of what may be your next question, if you have not worked this out yet, midnight is activated by shooting the right and left ramps alternately until all the roman numeral lights are lit. And then you need to hit the right lane ASAP to collect the rapidly decreasing bonus, as well as getting 5 million for each ramp or trap before the music stops.

[mailman]

Thanks for explanation. Basically I am aware of almost every trick in each Amiga pinball but I have never had "Panic" in Nightmare and the mysterious prize with adding scores. In one of the previous posts it was stated that 9 o'clock spin bonus gives you double score (the same as Graveyard) so this is why I asked about it. Now it is clear that the previous post is just wrong.

And Panic gives you what kind of reward?

[Dreedo]

Looks like I'm out, doubt I'll improve on this score. :/

55,586,262

[mihcael]

Originally Posted by mailman

...
And Panic gives you what kind of reward?

The right most looping ramp has a countdown that starts at 20 million, the other ramps will score 5 million per use for about 20 secs

[capehorn]

'Add highest players score to your own' basically for the purposes of this competition, it doubles your score. If you were playing in a game with more than one person, you would have the current highest scoring players score added to your score, but in one player mode it simply doubles your score. It is the 9 o'clock position in the spinner

'Return lanes lit' is the 12 o'clock position. The panic and XB light turn on. If the ball connects with the metal strips in the tunnel next to either flipper (see the pic - I can't think of the words to describe it!) then either extra ball will be lit in the jackpot trap, or panic will be activated. You can get both of these. Panic sets the 20 million countdown going and you can collect it in the right passage (the purple arrow). You DON'T get 5 million per ramp for panic, you only get that during midnight.

Both of these are rare. You are much likelier to get 1m, 3m, 100k or Hold Bonus than any of these.

[mailman]

Originally Posted by mihcael

The right most looping ramp has a countdown that starts at 20 million, the other ramps will score 5 million per use for about 20 secs

This is Midnight and it is available when you lit all the hour symbols. During Midnight you also score 5 million if you shoot traps.

Panic question is still open.

[mailman]

Originally Posted by capehorn

'Add highest players score to your own' basically for the purposes of this competition, it doubles your score. If you were playing in a game with more than one person, you would have the current highest scoring players score added to your score, but in one player mode it simply doubles your score. It is the 9 o'clock position in the spinner

So basically, anybody who had 'Add highest players score to your own' reward played in more than one player mode at least one time before the compo play and if it wasn't for this, his score would have been higher The only problem is that Graham had it and he swears he didn't play in more than one player mode. Or his finger slipped on F2 key

'Return lanes lit' is the 12 o'clock position. The panic and XB light turn on. If the ball connects with the metal strips in the tunnel next to either flipper (see the pic - I can't think of the words to describe it!) then either extra ball will be lit in the jackpot trap, or panic will be activated. You can get both of these. Panic sets the 20 million countdown going and you can collect it in the right passage (the purple arrow). You DON'T get 5 million per ramp for panic, you only get that during midnight.

And I suppose that you can have only one: either what's left from 20 million or extra ball. You can't have both...

Thanks for clearing this up. I thought this was something more nasty

[capehorn]

Mailman, you don't seem to be taking this in!

Originally Posted by mailman

So basically, anybody who had 'Add highest players score to your own' reward played in more than one player mode at least one time before the compo play and if it wasn't for this, his score would have been higher The only problem is that Graham had it and he swears he didn't play in more than one player mode. Or his finger slipped on F2 key

Ignore all the complicated explanations. In one player mode 'Add highest...' doubles your score. That's all it is

Originally Posted by mailman

And I suppose that you can have only one: either what's left from 20 million or extra ball. You can't have both...

Thanks for clearing this up. I thought this was something more nasty

As I said in my post, you can have BOTH. Both XB and panic light come on and stay on until you either collect them or lose the ball. It you collect XB, panic will still be lit and you can still get it.

[Lonewolf10]

Originally Posted by capehorn

Mailman, you don't seem to be taking this in!

Agreed. Perhaps he is sleepy like me? I was up until 3am last night trying to better my score. Best I did was 90 million and was 1 letter away from doubling it via "Graveyard". I'm hoping to improve my score today, because I don't feel safe in 13th position (even with 20 qualifying).


Regards,
Lonewolf10

[mailman]

In fact I am pretty much not myself today and it seems I am not reading everything as it is written. Apologies for that and thanks for everything Maybe I should get some nap and try playing this game later in the evening to improve my score.

[bombermax]

What's more to get some real nice score bonus You need to lock the ball within ~5secs after You end Jackpoint trial (locking 2 balls after "init" mode) You can get for it about 50mln, but as I state at the beginning You need to be real fast - "super" sign lights down very quick.

[mailman]

This one is well-known (at least for me) thus it is quite tricky to achieve.

[capehorn]

2,231,143,896

[Lonewolf10]

Originally Posted by bombermax

What's more to get some real nice score bonus You need to lock the ball within ~5secs after You end Jackpoint trial (locking 2 balls after "init" mode) You can get for it about 50mln, but as I state at the beginning You need to be real fast - "super" sign lights down very quick.

I have only managed to get the 50 million bonus from "super" just the once. I have managed to get the jackpot several times from there, but only when my multiplier has been at x1. I consistently get the multiplier to x2 and x4, but never manage to get the jackpot then, until I lose the ball and multiplier goes back to x1!


Edit:

Capehorn, that's one amazing score. Congratulations


Regards,
Lonewolf10

[capehorn]

Thank You! Five more targets and it would have been 4.4b